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2w ago

US Navy Renames USNS Harvey Milk to USNS Oscar V. Peterson

Pete Hegseth says the renaming removes politics from ship naming, marking a shift toward honoring traditional military valor.

Image
FILE - Harvey Milk, a gay political leader in San Francisco, is seen pictured in his camera store on Castro Street, June 28, 1977, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/File)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth departs an event to promote President Donald Trump's domestic policy and budget agenda in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - The U.S. Navy launches the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler ship named after the first openly gay elected official, in San Diego, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File)

Overview

  • Oscar V. Peterson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for closing bulkhead stop valves under fire during the May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea, actions that kept the USS Neosho operational.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a June 3 directive and met a June 13 deadline to replace Harvey Milk’s name with one reflecting military service rather than political activism.
  • The renaming aligns with a Pentagon drive to prioritize wartime heroism on Navy vessels and reverse the previous administration’s practice of honoring civil rights figures.
  • The fleet replenishment oiler, operated by Military Sealift Command and in maintenance at Alabama Shipyard, will receive updated paint and signage over the next six months.
  • LGBT+ rights advocates and some former sailors have denounced the decision as erasing civil rights recognition and distracting from naval readiness.